Alumna Renée Cummings ’06 is moving the needle forward on social justice issues through one of the most cutting edge ways possible, investigating artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies to promote accountability, transparency, security, and human rights in the criminal justice system. After spending the last decade of her life working as an international consultant in the field of criminal justice and law enforcement, Cummings is now making new strides in the world of criminology as an A.I. ethicist. “When it comes to criminal justice, we are in the age of Artificial Intelligence,” Cummings says. “It is important for communities to understand the relationship between artificial intelligence and the criminal justice system and how your data could be weaponized against you.”

Becoming a Social Justice Advocate
Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, Cummings found inspiration in her mother, who served as a diplomat for Trinidad and Tobago, and her father, a public figure and celebrated international soccer player. “I came from a family where education was extremely important. Not only academics but the education that you give yourself—such as your consciousness, awareness, and understanding of your place and positioning in the world,” she says. “When I came to America at the age of 23, I was thinking of new ways to reinvent myself.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Counseling in Substance Abuse at Hunter College, Cummings found herself drawn to the connection between substance abuse and the criminal justice system. “I wanted to know what would lead people to the criminal justice system and whether the criminal justice system was being fair in its treatment of persons who had addictions. That led me to John Jay,” Cummings says. At John Jay, she discovered a passion for criminal justice, criminology, and juvenile justice. But it was a class on gangs and the community taught by Sociology Professor David Brotherton, Ph.D., that would change the trajectory of her life. “Dr. Brotherton is a professor who is deeply engaged in the work that he does and in building up the communities impacted by his work. The first day he walked into that class, he just flipped the script on everything we thought we knew about gangs. That led me to understand the role of the community in gangs and gangs in the community,” says Cummings. “I went into John Jay to learn about the criminal justice system and I came out of John Jay as an advocate for social justice.” Cummings earned a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a graduate certificate in Terrorism Studies, leaving John Jay with a dedication to protecting human rights.

Getting into the Field of A.I. Ethics
In her work as an international consultant, Cummings trained police officers, law enforcement agents, magistrates, criminal justice practitioners, and many other officials in the criminal justice system. “My specialization is homicide investigation focused on reducing homicides and gun and gang violence.” While partnering with police officers in trying to create interventions and solutions to decrease crime and criminality, Cummings saw the phrases “algorithmic decision-making system” and “artificial intelligence” repeatedly in reports and research studies. Delving deeper, she discovered that algorithmic decision-making systems were A.I.-infused risk assessment tools used to make life decisions for system-impacted people. “Because I left John Jay as this individual committed to social justice, I realized that these algorithms and how they were being used in policing, sentencing, and corrections were overestimating recidivism risk and denying people parole. There was no way these individuals who were facing the criminal justice system understood the kinds of decisions that were being made against them.”

Cummings understood that the collection and use of big data—large sets of information related to human behavior and used by tech companies to create algorithmic systems—should require ethical guidelines, especially to safeguard system-impacted people and communities of color. “An A.I. ethicist is someone who looks at the ethics of artificial intelligence when applied to society. Some of the things I have focused on are privacy issues when it pertains to the use of your data and accountability. How accountable are these A.I. solutions, tools, and technologies when it comes to using your data? How are these A.I. systems making decisions? What we were seeing is that these systems had biases that were discriminating against people of color.” Committed to social and racial justice, Cummings felt compelled to act. “These algorithms that were ministering justice were really in need of being interrogated. That is what I started to do.”

Understanding the Importance of Transparency in A.I.
“Transparency and accountability are critical,” Cummings says, expanding on how algorithmic decision-making systems are impacting lives in a real way. “In the coding process, there are hidden biases such as systemic racism, systemic discrimination, institutional discrimination, that are baked into the datasets. For example, when we hear about a ‘welfare mom’ in America, the image conjured up is an African-American or a Latinx woman who lives in a New York City project building, who is dressed up in a Juicy Couture velour suit with big flashy jewelry, a weave, and false eyelashes. But, when you look at the statistics, there are more white women in rural America on welfare than Black and Latinx women. These prefabricated notions seep into the data,” explains Cummings. “What we were seeing was A.I. codifying unconscious biases and systemic racism. Racializing predictions through these risk assessment systems. The technology was creating a new type of institutional discrimination.” She believes that diverse data sets and transparency should be required if these systems are being used to uphold the law. “Algorithmic decision-making systems need to give a report saying, ‘This is why the decision was made. These are the variables we used to come up with that decision.’ We’re now seeing the dangers associated with using these technologies in vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved communities. Tech companies are rethinking surveillance technologies and its impact on communities of color within the context of systemic racism.”

Empowering the Community
Recognizing the inherent privilege and power in data, Cummings says, “You’ve got to look at how the data was collected. If you think of the United States as a country with a history of racism against people of color, you would think that the data coming out of the criminal justice system will naturally be biased against people of color. I have seen the deployment of surveillance technologies in communities of color and its impact. The number one has been facial recognition technologies,” Cummings says, delving into how the technology’s current inability to accurately assess people of color and women further creates biases that harm these populations. “Communities of color continue to be the most impacted by this kind of policing intervention.” Cummings believes that knowledge is key in this situation. “These communities need to build their own understanding, they need to be educated, and communities need to be empowered when it comes to digital policing. Because this technology is so new, we don’t know everything we need to know about A.I. We have got to ensure that there is an ethical use of data in policing, and if push back is required to protect the public interest, then it needs to happen in real time.”